The present invention relates to the field of hand-held material-handling implements and more particularly to an improvement in manually-deployed forks for cleaning livestock facilities such as horse stables.
Manual cleaning of horse stalls or other livestock facilities, as conventionally practiced, is typically performed utilizing a commercially-available specially-shaped fork as shown in plan view in FIG. 1A, side view in FIG. 1B and three-dimensional view in FIG. 1C. Fork 10 consists of a scoop portion 12 configured with a row of tines extending as shown, typically molded from plastic. A handle 14, typically made of wood with a circular cross-sectional shape, is attached to scoop portion 12.
In conventional practice of stall cleaning, there is substantial waste because much of the wood shaving bedding material becomes removed and discarded along with the manure, thus necessitating frequent costly replenishment that can amount to many bags of shavings per week per animal, representing a substantial cost factor.
The main approach presently available to control this cost factor is to train, motivate and supervise workers to take the extra time and diligent effort to salvage the wood shavings; however such special training and effort is likely to be merely a tradeoff, shifting the cost to labor and supervision, and could result in zero or negative savings overall. The cost of wasted bedding material is particularly high in prestigious operations and expensive boarding sites where the stalls must be kept in top condition by frequent cleaning and where wood shavings are utilized plentifully for aesthetic and show purposes.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved manure fork for cleaning livestock stalls and pens, that automatically separates bedding material such as wood shavings during the process of stall cleaning so that the bedding material can be retained and recycled repeatedly.
It is a further object that any mechanism incorporated in the improved manure fork be made to operate in a manner that there is no excessive sound or other disturbance that could frighten or alarm nearby livestock.
It is a further object that the improved manure fork be made to operate safely without requiring an AC power line cord and without exposing the user or livestock to risk of electrical shock.
It is a further object that any motor driven mechanism including associated batteries be sufficiently small and light in weight so as not to appreciably increase the work effort normally required in conventional stall-cleaning activity.
The present invention combines a manure fork with an air blower that is directed in a manner to blow bedding material such as wood shavings off the fork and back into surrounding regions of the stall automatically while the worker simply performs the cleaning operation and removes the manure in the normal manner. The wood shavings are then easily recycled into the stall, thus saving a substantial portion of the conventional replenishment costs without imposing extra diligence on the part of the worker or extra supervision on the part of the supervisor.
Electrical powering of the blower keeps the operation quiet so as to not alarm the horse or other livestock. Instead of operating the blower from the AC power line, on-board battery operation is utilized to avoid the potential nuisance factor of an AC line cord and to eliminate any risk of electrical shock.